<strong>Welcome</strong> <strong>to</strong> ... THE <strong>Club</strong> I came, I saw... I forgot what I was doing. Retraced my steps and got lost. <strong>Welcome</strong> <strong>to</strong> ... <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2023</strong> I ALWAYS KNEW I'D GET OLD. HOW FAST IT HAPPENED WAS A BIT OF A SURPRISE, THOUGH. Do you live in the BOONIES? <strong>The</strong> CLUB is available at all Lamb<strong>to</strong>n County libraries (while they last)! TWO LOCATIONS! GRAND BEND - Wednesdays 8am-1pm, Lamb<strong>to</strong>n Heritage Museum, until Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 4. FOREST - Fridays 9am-1pm, at the corner of Jefferson & Main, until Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 6. Grandparents Leave Lasting Legacy Grandparents are interesting people who can contribute a great deal <strong>to</strong> families and society, as well as leave valuable legacies for future generations. <strong>The</strong>y add a special dimension and richness <strong>to</strong> our lives. I was fortunate <strong>to</strong> grow up with an extended family that included my grandparents on my father’s side. Grandpa Cook was an Imperial Oil employee and farmer, born in Brooke Township. Grandma was a seamstress born in Dawn Township. Together they raised a family of four, starting out in a log cabin. Memories of my grandma draw me <strong>to</strong> the kitchen of two residences, first in Corunna, then in Alvins<strong>to</strong>n. <strong>The</strong> kitchen was the focal point of both the two-s<strong>to</strong>rey homes, the gathering place <strong>to</strong> not only have meals but <strong>to</strong> hang out with other family members. Grandma seemed <strong>to</strong> have her head in the oven a lot, either putting something in or taking something out. Even <strong>to</strong>day, the smells of baking always bring her <strong>to</strong> mind, especially the smell of cinnamon. My sister and I would watch her roll out pastry for pies; unfortunately, neither one of us carried on this tradition. By Nadine Wark, Sarnia • from Daytripping May-June 2016 According <strong>to</strong> family lore, Grandma had no problem chasing a chicken out back and cutting off its head for a ‘fresh’ chicken dinner. Fortunately, we never witnessed that feat! <strong>The</strong>re was also the gardening, canning and preserving every year and sewing on the old Singer. When I was a very young girl playing in the orchard in the afternoons, she would call me <strong>to</strong> the porch and suggest it was nap time. Most times I don’t remember falling asleep as we were busy playing ‘I Spy’ and ‘What would you do for a million dollars.’ I wanted <strong>to</strong> know if she would eat a cockroach for a million…her reply was always the same, “I suppose I would if it was roasted first.” Staying overnight was a real adventure as, like most grandparents, mine would ignore the clock, letting me stay up past bedtime eating snacks (<strong>to</strong>day known as junk food). <strong>The</strong>n there was Grandma’s snoring and her apology, “Sorry, dear, I will turn over.” When it was time <strong>to</strong> visit the outhouse in the middle of the night, she would grab the flashlight and lead me out in<strong>to</strong> the spooky blackness. I always had a fear that a hand would come out of the hole and grab me! However, Grandma assured me that this was not possible. Both grandparents had a definite interest in my schoolwork and after reviewing my report card, would always find some change for penny candy at McRae’s General S<strong>to</strong>re. When I complained of having <strong>to</strong> walk six blocks <strong>to</strong> school, my jaw dropped as they said they walked five miles <strong>to</strong> school, even in snow-s<strong>to</strong>rms, <strong>to</strong> a one-room schoolhouse with all eight grades and one teacher… yikes! Memories of my grandpa include playing board games like regular checkers, Chinese checkers, Fish or Snap. When I was a little older, he taught me Canasta, I became good at it and he was ticked off when I beat him several times! He would pepper his conversations with phrases like “between you and me and the gatepost”…I thought that a bit strange. When I think of him, I recall the hours my friends and I played hide-and-go-seek in his cornfields or climbed his apple and cherry trees. I also remember my grandparents pulling up in their Ford <strong>to</strong> take my sister and I <strong>to</strong> the Brigden Fair. Although only six years of age, I vividly recall in May of 1953, my grandparents calling me in from the yard in Corunna as the skies <strong>to</strong> the north looked dark and foreboding. It was May of 1953 and a <strong>to</strong>rnado hit Sarnia, leaving a path of devastation, but sparing our village of Corunna. My grandpa passed away when I was 12 years old, so our time <strong>to</strong>gether was short. My grandma, however, lived <strong>to</strong> be almost 99 years old. I cherish the memories as I recall the legacy of love and caring they left with our family. P A G E 42 “<strong>The</strong>y may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom!” -Braveheart, 1995
Thanks again - keep this copy of pass it on <strong>to</strong> a friend please. <strong>Welcome</strong> <strong>to</strong> ... THE <strong>Club</strong> <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2023</strong> “To infinity and beyond!” -Toy S<strong>to</strong>ry, 1995 P A G E 43
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